Comments: Aggression toward dogs

“we just got a three year old dog out of the pound and he plays GREAT with our other dog (2 years old). the issue is the new dog is VERY territorial with other dogs. even dogs he plays with out on the street or at their house if they come to our house it is not a pretty scene. how do you break a dog of being terrertorial? ” — jax, Oct 16 2008

“We have a 2 year old female dog from lab rescue. She seems wonderful-very loving and people oriented. However, we learned after we got her that she is viciously aggressive towards other dogs (hackles, growls, snarls, barks and lunges whenever she sees another dog -- she attacks, bites, and seems to try to kill the other dog if she can get near it). I'm told this is treatable but one can never be secure. Should I worry that she might suddenly become aggressive towards people as well? Are these behaviors often linked?” — margiemcl, Sep 13 2008

“I have a 4 year old dog that is good with dogs she knows but not with dogs we pase on the street and has started to become aggressive with new comers to our home what do we do?” — erolangela, Jul 13 2008

“Please tell me theres hope. I have 2 male dachshunds just over a year old that have in the last 2 months gone from loving to hating and attacking each other. Each gets along great with my female 7yr cocker but the dachshunds i now have to keep in seperate rooms. They hurt each other pretty bad when they go at it. I tried to let them "just work it out" one time but never again. What do I do?” — ws69ws, Jun 22 2008

“We have 2 dogs, 2 year old male and 1 year old female, both labs. They like to play together, but the older lab tends to get carried away. He will grab the younger one by her neck and drag her around. At times he actually punctures her neck. I do believe that its a dominance thing because as soon as she lays on her side in commlete submission, he stops. But I don't agree that we should just be letting it happen when one is getting hurt. When we try to stop them it is near imposible and they just will not listen when they are in this mode. I know thats our vault, but until recently they have always played nice, so there was no need to stop them. If anyone has some advise for how to let our dog know when enough is enough, we would be happy to listen.” — cccccccccc, Jun 02 2008

“The problem I find is that my dog is not agressive AT ALL, however he loves playing with other dogs so much that when we see them he lunges at them and it is often seen as him being agressive. I'm having quite a time correcting this as he really isn't doing anything wrong, it's only the preception that is wrong.” — aaaaa, Apr 22 2008

“I would just like to add that sometimes "aggression" is nothing more than two dogs hassling it out for dominance. It may look and sound ferocious but is basically nothing more than the canine equivalent of shoving and cursing. If your dog is frequently involved in such disputes with a familiar dog and neither one actually hurts the other, you might just let the "kids" resolve their own issues. Dogs who really want to harm each other will do so with lightning speed. If you keep butting in to stop the petty squabbles, you can prolong the feud or inspire one of the combatants to resort to a serious attack to resolve things once and for all. Of course, sometimes the aggression is just blatantly antisocial. You may just have to swallow your pride and admit that your dog is a bully. In that case you owe it to your dog and everyone else's pet to teach your mutt some manners. Is your dog always the instigator? Does your dog know when enough is enough? If you don't show Rover that over-the-top aggressive behavior is unacceptable, somewhere down the line another dog will teach your dog what's what and it won't be pretty. ” — pcarpenter, Mar 07 2008

“My dog has dog-to-dog issues. She probably always will and I just have to monitor and control her contact with other canines. The big problem with my dog is that her reactions to other dogs are all over the place. From what I've been able to observe, her aggressive reactions are a combination of dominance/fear. If the other dog backs down, if the other dog stays out of my dog's face, my dog may not play with the other dog but she will co-exist with it. Big dogs terrify her. Pushy dogs make her angry. In fact, if it's a small and yet polite dog, my dog is quite friendly. It's also no coincidence, I think, that her two best canine buddies are senior citizens and very laid back to begin with. I have also noted that my dog can act like Cujo in enclosed spaces (like indoors in the same room) but outdoors will just ignore the same canine. I could go on for pages about my observations but I'll suffice it to say that before you seek professional help, you should have a totally detailed picture of your dog's behavior. Even if you elect to work with the dog yourself, you'd better be able to read the dog well and avoid situations that will set the dog off. Remember that every time aggression "works," your dog will feel compelled to repeat the "successful" behavior. ” — pcarpenter, Mar 07 2008

“It depends on how your dog is acting when you see the agressive behavior. There are many signs they give you of whether or not it is play. Is his tail up and wagging? (Play behavior) Or is the hair raised on his back? (fear and agressive behavior) It is probably a good idea to keep him away from other dogs till you can discern which it is. There are many other signs to look for and maybe if you do some research on agressive behavior versus play (which is usually mock fighting) it will help you with the observing. ” — smitte21, Feb 20 2008

“Ok, my dog loves to greet other dogs and pulls hard to do so. But then after 30 seconds or so, he will snap and growl. What is that? Am I interpreting this as aggression? or is it play?” — thickruggernyc, Feb 20 2008

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